Improvement in the manufacture of friction-matches



VAN R. POWELL.

Manufacture of Friction Matches.

No. 49,549. Patented Aug. 22, 1865*.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcao VAN RENSSELAER POWELL, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FRICTION-MATCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,549, dated August 22, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VAN EENSSELAER POW- ELL, of Troy, in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented a new and useful article of Friction-Match Strips or Fire- Kindlers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed d rawing, making a part of this specification, and which represents one of my new articles of frietion-match strips.

The nature of my invention consists in producing thin strips or sheets of wood or matchstuff, with one of the edges, respectively, of said strips prepared or coated with an ignitable chemical com pound, for the purpose of producing ignition by frictional contact with any suitable surface.

Said strips are produced or manufactured in manner ast'ollows, viz: The match-stuffis sawed into suitable blocks of from five to ten inches long, or thereabout, and about an eighth of an inch deeper than the finished width of the match-strips. The back ends of these blocks are then matted in the usual manner in the matting-machines used for that purpose, and then split by a splitting-machine into thin strips lengthwise with the block. These strips, being held together by their mat-ted ends,are now to be dipped in the melted sulphur, so as to receive a coat of the same extending about one-half inch down from the edges of the strips. After being properly coated with sulphur the strips are nexteapped with an ignitable chemical compound used for that purpose, which is done by dipping them into a melted preparation of the same, and in the usual manner. In making very thin match-strips I generally dip them a little deeper in the compound, so as to bring the capping farther down or onto the side ends of the match-strips than is done in making match-strips of the ordinary thickness. The dipped and capped match-strips are now separated from each other, which is done by removing the matted ends from said blocks by means ofa fine rotary saw,or by splitting them off by hand, thus separating the blocks of frictionmatch strips into distinctor individual frictionrnatch strips, such as are shown in the annexed drawings. a

This new article of friction-match strips possesses the desirable qualities of being economically manufactured, and they can also be very compactly and conveniently put up or packed for transportation, and resist well the damaging efieets ofchanges ofclimates or ofthe weather, and are safe for the premises in which they are used, as they are not likely to get scattered about and he accidentally ignited. They form also a very useful and convenient kindlingfor tires, and they may be readily broken or separated into smaller pieces of any desired size as maybe wanted by a knife or otherwise, always placing the knife on the uncapped edge of the strip and splitting toward the edge capped with the ignitable compound.

Having fully described my new article of friction'match strips, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is as follows:

As a new article of manufacture, the frictionmatch strips the same substantially as herein described.

VAN RENSSELAER POWELL. WVitnesses:

J. J. SAVAGE, J. L. BARNEY. 

